How Will Current Situation Affect the Interest in Entrepreneurship
The pandemic has forced people into situations they never imagined, especially in their professional lives. Unexpected situations often inspire entrepreneurs who enjoy taking on what others might find fear-inducing.
Instead, they thrive on thinking outside of the box and jump on new and exhilarating opportunities as they present themselves.
Finding Excitement in the Unknown
With COVID-19, people have had to change their priorities, networks, and plans and recognize that the future is unpredictable. The uncertainty hasn’t kept businesses from finding ways to grow and succeed. Entrepreneurs are accepting the challenges of marketing new organizations in the middle of a global pandemic.
However, no matter how confident you may be in your newfound business, you still need to find ways to finance the startup. This is often the crux of failure for many entrepreneurs. Finding a reliable economic source for a new business has always been trying, but the effect is even more pronounced thanks to the pandemic.
Even existing businesses are struggling to cope with the devastation all over Europe. In September of last year, there was a £135 billion cash-flow deficit for medium and large UK companies.
Surveys on the UK's SMEs (small and medium enterprises) show that entrepreneurs are in dire circumstances, with over two-thirds of them expressing that they've lost control of their finances.
The events were similar to those in Lithuania in the European Union, where GDP fell by 5.1% (still nowhere near Sweden's 8.6%) in the second quarter of 2020 alone. All of the European Union took a -11.9% GDP tumble.
Still, Lithuania held up relatively well. Many hope that the country can return to its pre-pandemic "investment-friendly business climate".
Some of the best ways to catalyze that possibility include encouraging consumers to spend and invest. Innovative fintech could be the key in making these activities more accessible to the general public and entrepreneurs.
Despite the temptation to give in to pessimism due to the current climate of rampant uncertainty, for entrepreneurs, stepping away from the everyday routine brings excitement and possibility. Relying on cutting-edge fintech is just one way to usher their dreams of a healthy cash flow into reality.
Pandemic Problems for Entrepreneurs
2020 brought substantial uncertainty and fluctuation to economies and industries the world over. As mentioned above, this was a time of great unknowns for individuals who were laid off and companies that were suddenly forced to downgrade to a skeleton crew.
Yet, some go-getters thrived in the chaos. In fact, Scandinavian business owners held up so well in the face of the pandemic that the current GDP forecasts show the following projected growth rates for 2021:
Denmark: +3%
Sweden: +3.4%
Norway: +3.7%
Some of the most anticipated startups in Sweden operate in industries including:
Energy
Health
Marketing
Software development
Transportation
These fields are notorious for their need for expensive equipment, pricey software, and corporate activities driven by substantial budgets. Yet, the many facing unforeseen financial struggles began to take a toll on entrepreneurs' ability to secure funding.
Often, business owners use networking events to pitch their ideas to investors.
With so many face-to-face events shuttered for over a year, entrepreneurs have had to go elsewhere to share their ideas with investors. Despite government support, some organizations still struggled.
Thankfully, recent technological advancements in the fintech industry offer a practical alternative. Now, millions of entrepreneurs are looking to this tech to streamline their financial management and enhance their company budgets. Because of this shift, it's being hailed as a potential lifesaver for SMEs.
Problem-Solving with Fintech Solutions
Entrepreneurs are experts at creating new ideas and seeing them grow to scale. This adaptability extends to their ability to navigate new territory related to financial growth and management solutions.
For example, two of the numerous applications of fintech are accounting and credit management platforms. These programs enable business owners to screen and monitor client activity (i.e., invoices, late payments, etc.), reach out for late payments, and collect fees.
This ensures optimal control over your cash flow at all times, preventing your organization from joining the 50,000 SMEs that close because of late-paying customers each year.
Many fintech solutions exist to show blossoming entrepreneurs their clients' risk profiles. This will give you an informed perspective of how likely they are to fulfill their invoices or not. With this information, you can make wise decisions on who you do business with, securing your financial standing during these turbulent times.
Still, you must meet the challenge of financing your business, to begin with. Fortunately, there are numerous fintech solutions to fulfill this need, too.
Finding Investors
Considering that so many event planners had to cancel their networking events, venture capitalists have also suffered. Savvy entrepreneurs know that money exists, and VCs want to spend it.
Fintech companies can help fuel these activities by harnessing the power of AI and automated document management and accounting.
Because of the sheer breadth of fintech's applications, experts are now recognizing this industry as critical to subverting financial crises. This is partially because they also enable entrepreneurs to fund their business initiatives by offering streamlined lending powered by machine learning.
"It is these kinds of lenders, alongside the incumbent leading [alternative finance] players, that will continue to drive the revolution in SME lending," Simon Cureton told Raconteur.
Advanced fintech solutions can be the very thing that gets you and your company through the flux of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Managing Uncertainty with Innovation
As countries worldwide reopen and citizens get vaccinated, entrepreneurs must adapt.
The big question for modern entrepreneurs is whether the businesses they build today will still be viable when the pandemic ends.
Thanks to the swift financial support provided by the Lithuanian and Scandanavian governments and rapidly advancing fintech solutions, the potential for long-term growth - far beyond the days of COVID - is within your grasp.
By turning to innovative fintech providers like Saldo, you can improve your company's financial management and secure the funds you need to grow your business.
